what I need to.
“I’ll be a good wife to you.”
He lifts his eyebrows.
“If you don’t let him take my sister from here.”
He shifts more in front of me, blocking anyone from seeing me. The priest is long gone.
“Do you truly trust this Leo? Stake your life and your sister’s on it?” he says so low only I can hear him.
“Yes.” My response is instant. I can’t tell if he likes my answer or not.
“I take it you want him to stay too then?”
“I could be a good wife to you,” I say again.
“Will be a good wife, and I’ll be a good husband. Only for you, beautiful. No one else.” He grabs my hand. “Shall we go meet the father of the bride?” It’s another questionable non-question. He’s already pulling me along past Leo and Gianna, who’s turned a shade or two whiter.
When we make it to the entryway of the house, I see my father and a handful of his men standing there. His expression, as always, is unreadable.
“I thought sending you to Giuseppe would make things simpler.” My father lets out a displeased sigh.
I already know what he’s thinking. I thought so, too, when I met the man who slew my husband. Santino isn't going to be so easy to control. He’s not Giuseppe. Not even close.
Santino might want others to fall into line, but he won’t be doing the same. The little I do know about my new husband tells me that he’s here to make a name for himself. Or, I guess, a bigger name. That is abundantly clear. I think death will come to anyone that tries to stand in the way of that. Including his new wife. Me. I’m a Carrera, and his only loyalty is to the Davincis.
My father’s eyes drop to where Santino is still holding my hand. I try and pull it free, but he doesn't let me. He lifts our locked hands and kisses mine before he finally releases it.
“I’ve wed your daughter.” How proudly he says it once again catches me off guard. I never know what Santino is going to say.
“You better have after that little show.” My father glares at Santino.
“Giuseppe wasn't worthy of this life. I easily took what was his. It was time. He crossed the Davincis. That wasn't going to slide. You know that.”
“His days were numbered.” My father nods. He knew this would happen. Giuseppe had only made it so long because of his name and old money. The same money he’d used to buy into the Carrera family for a bride. I wasn't the Carrera bride he wanted, but I was the one he’d gotten. Only because my father was all too happy to be rid of me. He hadn't needed the money. He also hadn’t raced over here worried about me. No, he was worried about Giuseppe's territory and, of course, Gianna.
My father stays silent and peers at Santino.
That stare has forced many a man to say too much, to come at my father from a position of uncomfortable weakness. Not Santino. He stares right back, his body rigid, unmoving.
After the tension mounts so high I start to get a cramp in my neck, my father relents. “I’m sure we can work out a new understanding. You are now family, after all.”
“I don’t see why we can’t form an alliance,” Santino agrees as I let out a long, silent breath.
“I tried once to form an alliance with the Davinci family. Offered my stunning daughter to Cato, in fact.”
Santino smirks. “Too late. I’ve already claimed her.”
My father throws back his head and laughs. The sound echoes in the entryway.
“I meant Gianna.”
I knew that. My face warms, and for the first time I actually feel embarrassed about my father's comment about me. I’ve never cared before. My new husband, however, looks like he’s about to explode.
9
Santino
“Apologize.” I say the word quietly.
Fernando hears it, because he stops his vulgar chuckling and pins me again with his cold eyes. “What did you say?”
“I said apologize to your daughter.” I step toward him. “To my wife.”
The men at his side tense, their hands reaching for whichever weapon they like best.
“Apologize for speaking the truth?” He tsks, clearly thinking he now has the upper hand. “I cannot. My daughter Gianna is a jewel, a bright flower under the sun. But Bella?” He barks another short laugh. “You chose unwisely. Why did you think I sold her to Giuseppe in the first place? She’s a shrew, a woman